Alaska Sea Kayaking - Icy Bay (Near Gustavus)
Formed this century by a receding glacier, Icy Bay gives one an idea of what explorer John Muir saw 100 years ago. Is there an unknown sea kayaker's fantasy land in Alaska? A place where no more than a handful of people have ever disturbed the tranquil waters. Where glaciers tumble to the sea from high mountains and meet wildlife and wildflowers in undiminished numbers? Along the broad arc of the Gulf of Alaska, 100 miles west of Glacier Bay National Park, enveloped in the rugged sweep of beaches at the foot of the 18,000-foot Mt. St. Elias, lies a new bay: Icy Bay.
Icy Bay now stretches 40 miles inland, and varies from four to ten miles wide. Its south shore is protected from the crashing waves of the open Pacific by a long, low neck of sand, the Pt. Riou spit, which marks the last forward advance of the glaciers. At the head of the bay lie three deep fjords and the glaciers that formed them: the Tyndall, Yahtse, and Guyot. In between is 40 miles of unsurpassed wilderness, a paddling and camping paradise.